In a potentiometer circuit, if the length of the wire is doubled, what happens t
Practice Questions
Q1
In a potentiometer circuit, if the length of the wire is doubled, what happens to the potential gradient?
It doubles.
It halves.
It remains the same.
It quadruples.
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
In a potentiometer circuit, if the length of the wire is doubled, what happens to the potential gradient?
Correct Answer: Halves
Step 1: Understand what potential gradient means. It is the amount of voltage (potential difference) per unit length of the wire.
Step 2: If you have a wire with a certain length and a certain voltage across it, you can calculate the potential gradient by dividing the voltage by the length of the wire.
Step 3: Now, if you double the length of the wire but keep the voltage the same, you need to recalculate the potential gradient.
Step 4: Since the length is now twice as long, the potential gradient will be the same voltage divided by a longer length.
Step 5: This means the potential gradient will be smaller, specifically it will be half of what it was before.